


Gangs of Fortuna

by Aeylin



Series: Children of the Void [1]
Category: Warframe
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2020-01-07
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:37:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21832279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aeylin/pseuds/Aeylin
Summary: After botching a simple grab-and-run mission, the amnesiac tenno V finds herself in a pact-debt to Ergo Glast, founder of The Perrin Sequence. Sent to Fortuna to pay off her debt, what V thinks to be an innocuous errand later sees her embroiled in the midst of a gang war between the warring factions of the colony's underbelly, which in turn leads to an earth-shattering discovery about an ancient Orokin secret.
Series: Children of the Void [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1573147
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for in-game story quests, up to "The Sacrifice".

It was supposed to be an easy job. Get in, procure the fieldron, and then get the hell out. 

Two things went wrong, however. 

Corpus frigate vaults are normally protected by a complex web of interconnecting C-grade photo-lasers and hexagonal encrypted locks, stuff that are all too familiar to the average Tenno. 

Except this time, the path was blocked by foreign-looking sensors - newly installed, they appeared to be. If not for the fact that _someone_ got slightly careless and exposed herself in the sights of one of these motion-detecting sensors, which set off a chain reaction of multitudinous alarms, the mission would have gone on smoothly.

The first sign of things to come.

V cursed under her breath as pairs of crewmen emerged out of the seemingly endless folds of the ship, training their detrons at her direction. She took a breath - catching the faintest whiff of void energy - and curved the light around her warframe outward.

In that instant, gunfire erupted all around her, but it was too late. In the crewmen’s eyes she had bent and twisted into herself; refracting out of existence. Only the keenest of eyes could detect the slight distortion that was swiftly moving amongst crewmen ranks, and when the first of them dropped dead, the rest quickly followed suit.

A deadly optical illusion, just like a Mirage in the desert concealing a very venomous snake. 

_Focus!_ A youthful yet stern voice chided her. _You need to collect your bearings and find the location of the fieldron._

Amidst the firefight, V managed to get a glimpse of her surroundings. Pipes of different thickness sprawled across the expanse of the chamber, some of them connecting to ominous humming machinery. _Pragmatic and overbearing, but not in the sleek way Corpus architecture usually is. This room is not built to be sightly - which indicates it’s the engine room, and all these pipes are probably powering the ship’s reactor..._

Corpus frigates were usually designed with a “castle-moat” philosophy, with most of its important chambers - namely the reactor, engine, and vault rooms - being in close proximity to each other for the sake of energy conservation. If this was the engine room, the connecting chamber would most likely be either the reactor or the ship’s vault. Which meant...

 _The fieldron is close!_ Another haughtier voice proclaimed excitedly. _You need but reach out and grasp it!_

Tearing open a plate in the ceiling, V swiftly climbed upwards through a criss-cross network of wires and pipes, deftly weaving in and out of obstruction. 

_The two main uses of fieldron by the Corpus: weaponry and infrastructure,_ the first voice intoned. _All in all, a resource that is in abundance to them. So why was that businessman so insistent on intercepting this particular shipment of fieldron...?_

 _No time to think._ The second voice interrupted. _Just act._

V tended to agree. The pause in the firefight had dampened her momentum slightly, but her mind still coursed with the Trance: a state in which mind and body reached a middling level between hyper-consciousness and instinctive muscle memory, turning her into a semi-thinking killing machine, weaving and ebbing with the tumultuous tides of battle. A perfect harmony between warframe and Tenno, a state so intuitively grasped by her kind. 

V erupted from a vent on the floor, spinning ferociously between groups of surprised crewmen and downing them with intermittent fire from her akstilettos. Her body instinctively responded to the direction of gunfire from all angles, twirling and pirouetting in a deadly dance, spurred on by a Trance-induced state of super awareness. The crewmen missed their shots - frequently - and cried in terror as they were torn to pieces by the dervish that slowly enveloped the whole room. _Bring it on!_ The second voice chuckled viciously as V felt the Trance swelling up within her. She was invincible.

Well, almost. 

Hidden beneath the cacophony of shouts and yells was a low, sonorous hum that gradually rose up above the acoustics of the room. V slowly recognised that sound as...a photon canon powering up!

She snapped her head back but was a second too late. She stared into the end of the blazing blue barrel of a fully charged photon canon as it let out an ear piercing blast...

_The two crewmen that had wheeled in the photon canon shielded their eyes from the explosion, then slowly examined the wreckage. A simmering black spot appeared where the warframe had once stood and..._

Falling ethereal confetti, glowing brilliantly in the dimness. 

The real V had escaped through a warframe-sized shaft in the ceiling, leaving her clone to be vaporized in the chamber below. 

A construct of light, crafted with a 99 percent similarity to her warframe’s appearance. You could theoretically spot the imperfections in it, if you were lucky enough to still be alive after seeing it.

_That was reckless. You’ve drawn too much attention to yourself and almost got killed - and need I remind you that your goal is the interception of the fieldron?_

_We were backed into a corner, we had no choice! The corpus have already been alerted to our presence, so no use in being stealthy._

_Shut it, both of you._ V snapped at both of the voices in her head. They quietened immediately as she searched for the shaft’s exit. 

Two slits of light shone from a distance. V couldn’t make out what was beyond the grate, but it was her only way out. Bracing herself, she threw her weight against the shaft grate and found herself...

...in a carvenous room, stacked with rows of pressure-sealed hatches, with alcoves of bullet-proof windows exposing the black, inky space outside. 

_A docking bay!_

Up ahead, several crewmen were frantically loading steel-coloured crates onto an escape craft. Amongst them was a crewman taller than most, wearing a black jumpsuit instead of the usual blues and yellows. His face was hidden underneath a crewmen headpiece, but his body contorted into a form that indicated surprise.   
  
_The fieldron._

Several heavily armored crewmen lumbered towards V, gesturing threateningly with rods that sparked with electricity. The crewman in black barked an order and they charged towards her, their rods swinging for her legs. 

_If they land a hit on you, your warframe will be incapacitated,_ the first voice stated matter-of-factly.

V leapt backwards, barely avoiding the hits swung at her. She tapped the the ground as she retreated, infusing the circuitry underneath the floorboards with light. 

If she willed it, she could coalesce light to form solid objects, such as clones, guns, or even explosives. 

Weight triggered explosives.

Before they had time to react, a line of fire exploded from the armored crewmen’s feet, the sheer force of the blast tearing their limbs off. V threw herself backwards using the impact of the explosion, performing a backflip and landing a safe distance away from her mines. As she regained her footing, she looked up to see the last of the crewmen - the one in black - climbing into the escape craft, crates of fieldron neatly packed behind him. 

_Stop them! Get the fieldron before they escape!_

V went into a mad sprint, drawing upon her Trance-induced adrenaline to push her forward. She ran, but had earlier positioned herself too far away from the escape craft. The pressure locked hatch was inches away from closing. 

_To hell with the fieldron! Bottom line is that they don’t make off with it!_

She was a breath short of reaching the craft, and the gap between the ends of the pressure locked hatch shrank to just the width of a finger.

_A finger is all I need!_

V thrust her index finger into the gap and felt the cold ridges of the escape craft, still docked to the bay. Breathing in, she drew upon her warframe’s well of power and channeled light through the circuitry of the escape craft until it reached its reactor.

Then she solidified the light, bludgeoning the reactor with a spiked light construct. 

The force of the escape craft’s implosion threw her back. Dazed and confused, the buzzing of transference static rang in her ears until the dust settled and her vision cleared up. Pulling herself up, she surveyed the extent of the damage.

Amazingly, the docking bay’s interior was completely unharmed. The escape ship had imploded the minute it undocked, leaving the pressure locked hatch to absorb most of the impact, which caused it to sport several big dents. 

V exhaled. _The fieldron was destroyed alongside the escape craft, but...that businessman can always find more fieldron. I did what I could._

 _His intent,_ the second voice agreed, _was probably to prevent the fieldron from falling into the wrong hands, not so much the procurement of the fieldron itself._

 _I wouldn’t be so quick to think that,_ interjected the first voice. _There might be something special about that fieldron that makes it worth preserving. A geotag? Maybe that businessman is tracking down someone, and that fieldron is his only lead._

 _The only thing that matters is that he gives me his promised reward,_ V thought, brushing aside both voices. _Information about my past._

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a clattering of footsteps in the nearby corridor. V tensed up and pointed her akstilettos at its direction. The footsteps grew louder and louder until a group of oddly dressed people stepped into the docking bay.

There were ten of them, all dressed in purple robes and sporting headwear that extended upwards in the shape of a rectangle. All but one trained their guns onto V. _More crewmen?_ V thought. _But they don’t look like it. Regardless, they’re acting hostile and I need to think of an escape plan. Another vent maybe? But the ceiling is out of reach..._

A pang of recognition struck her as her eyes focused on the group’s leader - the one who did not point a weapon at her. _Oh no, it’s-_

Ergo Glast stepped forward and addressed her angrily. “What in Profit’s name is going on here!?”

The second thing that had gone wrong: V had destroyed an essential piece of evidence. 


	2. Part 2

_Darkness._

_Not of the inky recesses of space, but of V's own mind. How long had she been here?_

_V looks down at herself, or tries to, but there is nothing. She is shapeless; formless._

_Just then, two figures appear from both ends of the periphery of her sight. Both sport auburn hair and don the same type of jumpsuit. They are..._

_They are her...but not really. Warped and exaggerated, they are manifestations of different aspects of her. But what?_

_Just as V begins to wonder, the universe is birthed right in front of her eyes. In a trillionth of a second, space begins to expand rapidly outwards from a minuscule locus. Stars and planets flutter into existence as asteroid belts start to creep up the edges of the universe. In a matter of moments, the Origin System takes its first breath, heralding the start of a very bizarre vision. Or is it a dream?_

_The figure to V's left starts to speak. As she does, the sun rises up behind her, an intense fiery ball of white hot passion._

_"This universe is our birthright," Vii states. "Why should we get caught up in the petty squabbles of minor people? The Tenno have lost their strength. It is a shame."_

_Just then, the sleepless moon rises on the back of the figure on the right as she begins to respond. "The place of the Tenno is not above others," Vi remarks coolly. "It is with ourselves. The Tenno are a force of another magnitude altogether. For the preservation of our kind, it is best that we do not get involved with the peoples of this universe."_

_"There is no such thing as power for power's sake," Vii interjects. "The power of the Tenno exists to exert itself. It is the tool unto which this universe is shaped!"_

_"The Tenno are a people. They are not a weapon. All that we do, we do for the survival of our kind. Interfering in worldly affairs would do us no favors." Or so came the composed reply from Vi._

_"Wait," stumbled the words out of V's mouth. "Are you two the voices in my head?"_

_The two figures in front turned to faced her. "A crisis draws close," says Vi eventually after a period of silence. "You will have to make your choice by then," continues Vii._

_"What are you talking about? What choice? And just where in the void am I exactly? Is this a dream?" V demanded._

_Almost as if in response, Vii points to a small section of the universe. As she squints in its direction, V feels herself being transported closer and closer to the location. As she draws nearer, she sees a series of Corpus frigates clustered near the orbit of Venus. No, not just any bunch of Corpus frigates. These bear the symbols of The Perrin Sequence..._

_And in the middle, a tiny liset floats defiantly under the shadows of the colossal frigates. Her liset..._

_"I'm in trouble, aren't I." All moisture seemed to evaporate from V's mouth. "I'm somehow seeing what's happening in real life from a disembodied point of view."_

_In that instant, as if in acknowledgement of her words, whatever unseen force operating the dream pulls V in the direction of her liset. The surroundings become a blur as her vision spins rapidly._

**V wakes up to see her Cephalon die. His neurocrystals shattered unto the floor, and her liset in an absolute, structural, mess.**

She gasps for breath. "Wynus, no!" 

Tumbling out of her somatic chair, V painstakingly hobbles her way forward. 

Curses! A sharp pain in her right knee. Or is it her left?

Looking around the chamber, it was plain to see that the damage was of a severe magnitude. It could be fixed with lengthy repairs, but with her Cephalon dead, that was an unlikely recourse in the near future. V ambled past her warframe, which was thankfully unharmed amidst the wreckage, towards the bow of her liset. Beyond the bulletproof windows, she could see the menacing shadows of monstrous-looking Corpus frigates engulfing her liset in its entirety. 

Then she remembered. The fieldron. The Perrin Sequence. Ergo Glast. That final explosive blast from that Corpus frigate's reactor, breathing its last hurrah. 

"My ship must have gotten caught in the blast," V thought out loud. "I somehow survived. But what about Ergo...?"

_Quiet!_ hissed one of the voices in her head suddenly. _That former Corpus goon survived. He's listening in on you at this moment. Your comms are wide open after the explosion tore off the radio encryption module off your ship._

"Wait, I just talked to you - in my dream! Where's the other voice?" 

_Still here,_ came the other voice calmly. _And Vii is right, although it is too late. Ergo knows of your survival now that you've exposed yourself to him._

"You two have names? Who gave them to you?" V asked in bewilderment, 

If a disembodied voice in your head could raise an eyebrow quizzically, Vi definitely did. _Why, you did._

Before she could ask any further questions, a deep yet wizened voice crackled from the comms panel. 

"Ah, ahem...Tenno, you're awake. I am Ergo Glast of the Perrin Sequence, and forgive my intrusion, but I believe we should talk about...recently transpired events."

"It's not going to be a very friendly talk, isn't it," V remarked dryly. "You have frigates surrounding my liset. Explain yourself."

"You are correct, it isn't." Ergo did not provide a visual of himself, but V could feel his disapproval emanating from the radio. "I believe you bungled up something that belonged to us."

_I don't like his tone,_ Vii growled _._

_It would do us no good to incur the wrath of Ergo's syndicate. Let's wait and see what he wants of us,_ Vi cautioned _._

V remained silent for a while. "The fieldron," she said eventually. "I don't know why, but your organisation wants something related to that fieldron I was hunting down."

"The fieldron that you blew up, yes," came the reply. "Over the recent few decades, my organisation has been searching for an object of renown. Its location is a mystery, although traces of it can be found all over the system. Traces that we can use to backtrack to its current location. Traces...that you happened to destroy along with the fieldron."

"An object of renown? I thought the Perrin Sequence were all about profits. I did not realise you were treasure hunters as well." 

Ergo sighed softly. "We seek profits just like the Corpus, yes, but we use it to aid the common man, instead of exploiting them. And as for the object in question, I do not seek it just as a curio to be placed on my collector's shelf. This...object is a source of immense power, and cannot fall into the wrong hands. Such as the Corpus."

"This explains why that shady businessman was so eager to get his hands on that fieldron," V said. "But I don't see what this has to do with me."

"Oh, but it does. You, intentionally or not, destroyed one of the few paper trails leading us to that object which we desire. From what I can see, you owe us some form of compensation for your actions. You're indebted to us."

V snorted. "I can't pay you in credits, you're already stacked to the brim with them."

"Which is why I propose...a pact-debt. A favor for a favor. Do this one task for us, and we will not bother you any further."

"And if I refuse?" V asked, but knew the answer that was coming already.

"If you refuse, we shall not force your hand," said Ergo. "Our relations with the Tenno are strained as it is already. We will not risk conflict with your kind. But, a Tenno as enterprising as yourself might already know that favors are the second currency of the system. In our eyes, you are still indebted to us, so if in the future you look to us for a weapon, or a resource, or even for help...know that we will have to turn you down."

"Besides," added Ergo slyly, "where shall you go from here? Your liset is in a state of disrepair. Help us, and on top of paying off your debt, we shall aid in the restoration of your liset's facilities. Do we have a deal?"

_I won't stand for this. Relying on a bunch of Corpus rejects makes us vulnerable. Plus, we don't know what sort of favor he'll ask of us. We could be putting ourselves in further danger by agreeing to his deal,_ said Vii.

_I don't like our situation either, but taking the deal poses a lesser risk to us. We desperately require those ship repairs,_ offered Vi.

"Alright Mister Glast, I'll take the deal," said V. "What dirty work do you need me to carry out?"

"I'd knew you'd see things our way," replied Ergo. "Fortunately for you, there exists another trail that will lead us to the object we require. Unfortunately, it's location lies in a very...delicate area, too delicate for our agents to navigate through. We had only intended to search this trail out as a last resort, but as it stands it happens to be our only choice left. I am assured however that the area will be no match for your capabilities as a Tenno."

"And what area might that be?" asked V.

"One debt-internment colony on Venus you might have heard of. Fortuna."

_Fortuna. A place of slavery and unmitigated Corpus greed. A few Tenno passed through the area a while ago, but I have no idea about their later whereabouts,_ V thought.

"Fortuna it is then."

"Good. One of our operatives is on the ground already, she will fill you in on the details. For now, ready your warframe Tenno. My carrier craft will come for you soon. We will drop you off at one of our safe-houses inside the colony."

A few moments later, V - or rather, her warframe - was descending down to the frost-covered snowy caps of Venus. The somatic link was shaky, but it held.

Inside the carrier craft, ten Perrin Sequence agents trained their guns on her. Not that they actually posed a threat, but the atmosphere was still tense nonetheless. V would rather avoid conflict if she could.

She turned to their leader, a bizarre female-presenting humanoid who sported cybernetic limbs. She did not wear the purple robes of the Perrin Sequence as her comrades did. "How long till we reach the ground?"

The humanoid looked at her with a puzzled expression. It garbled gibberish in response.

"Right. You speak Corpus." V turned back to stare out the windows of the carrier craft, gazing at the cloudy surface of Venus that was inching ever closer to the window. 

_By the way, we need to talk about that dream I just had. You guys can intrude into my dreams now?_ V addressed both of the voices in her head.

_Dream? I don't know what you're talking about,_ replied Vii.

_Wait but then how do I know your names - you know what, forget it._

V had stopped questioning the things that happen to her a long time ago.


End file.
